---
type: faq
name: bActivate FAQ
description: Direct answers to common questions about bActivate, problem mares, and dormant Streptococcus zooepidemicus.
last_updated: 2026-06-13
canonical_url: https://bactivate.us
---

# Frequently Asked Questions

## What is bActivate?

bActivate is a veterinary bacterial growth medium that reactivates dormant
*Streptococcus equi* subspecies *zooepidemicus* in problem broodmares so it can
be detected in standard culture. It is a diagnostic tool, not a treatment.
Standard uterine swabs miss these dormant infections in more than 60 percent of
cases; bActivate makes the hidden infection visible.

## Is bActivate a treatment or a diagnostic?

bActivate is a diagnostic medium. It does not treat the mare. It reveals a
dormant infection that standard swabs miss, so a veterinarian can apply a
targeted treatment. The improved fertility outcomes come from the treatment
workflow it enables, not from the medium acting as a cure.

## How well does bActivate work?

In a Hagyard Equine Medical Institute study of 64 problem mares (Petersen and
Bojesen, 2014), mares managed with the bActivate workflow reached a 70 percent
foaling rate and an 83 percent pregnancy rate, against a historic baseline of 15
to 50 percent for problem mares. In a separate controlled study, bActivate
activated dormant bacteria in 64 percent of samples versus 8 percent for a PBS
control (n=37, PMID 26123371).

## Why do standard swabs miss the infection?

A portion of *Streptococcus zooepidemicus* survives in a dormant, non-growing
state inside the endometrium, often within biofilm. Conventional culture
depends on bacteria growing into visible colonies, and dormant bacteria do not
grow under those conditions. So the swab reads negative even though viable
bacteria are present. bActivate provides the conditions that bring the dormant
bacteria back into active growth.

## What is a problem mare?

A problem mare is a broodmare that has failed to conceive across three or more
breeding cycles despite being bred to a fertile stallion. Between 70 and 80
percent of problem mares carry hidden uterine infections, a frequent and
under-diagnosed cause of repeated breeding failure.

## Who can use bActivate?

bActivate is used by veterinarians and breeding professionals who have clinical
access to a problem mare, including reproduction veterinarians, stallion
stations, breeding farms, and embryo transfer specialists. It is not a self-use
product for general horse owners, because applying it requires a problem mare
and veterinary sampling.

## Is bActivate approved or registered?

In the United States, bActivate is a registered veterinary product covered by
US Patent 8,633,007 ("Diagnosis of endometritis", granted 2014, assigned to
the University of Copenhagen). In the European Union and the United Kingdom it
is not registered as a veterinary medicinal product and is positioned as a
diagnostic tool for detecting dormant *Streptococcus zooepidemicus*.
Veterinarians who need to confirm how the product is classified in their own
country should consult their national veterinary medicines authority.

## Who developed bActivate?

bActivate was developed by Prof. Anders Miki Bojesen (DVM PhD, Professor of
Veterinary Microbiology at the University of Copenhagen) and Dr. Morten Ronn
Petersen (DVM PhD, Diplomate ACT, equine reproduction specialist). See
[Founders and Authority](founders.md).

## Related concepts

- [What bActivate Is](bactivate.md)
- [The Problem Mare](problem-mare.md)
- [Clinical Evidence](clinical-evidence.md)